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Patisserie Valerie, which was chaired by Luke Johnson, was put up for sale last month after collapsing following the discovery of fraudulent activity in its accounts.

Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley subsequently submitted a bid for the chain, but later withdrew it, complaining that he had been locked out of the process by KPMG, which is managing the administration.

The cake firm's parent company, Patisserie Holdings, has been grappling with the fallout of the accounting fraud since October.

Last month the firm said the extent of fraud meant it was unable to renew its bank loans with HSBC and Barclays and it did not have sufficient funding to continue trading, leaving it with no option but to appoint KPMG as administrator.